A Kāpiti Coast builder says flat-pack homes have become a bigger focus than expected for his business as demand for Bunnings' prefabricated homes increases.

Simon Hinds of Hinds Construction said since May he had built 30 flat pack homes over the past two years. Eight of those homes were constructed in the last five months and delivered to customers around the Kāpiti Coast.

"Inquiries just keep coming in. We've been busy, busy, busy," Hinds said. "The flatpacks have made up about 25 per cent of our total sales. They were supposed to be a side business but have become a bigger focus than we expected."

There are now 72 of Bunnings' Clever Living houses up throughout New Zealand. The houses can be designed and built off-site, then transported to the location or home delivered as a kitset and built on-site by a registered builder.

Hinds said, including labour costs, the houses ranged from $79,350 for a 60-square-metre two-bedroom kitset to $230,000 for the four-bedroom 106sqm homes.

Hinds said about half of all inquiries were from first-home buyers.

A Bunnings spokeswoman said it had approved 21 builders to build its DIY homes.

Builders must be a licensed building practitioner in order to qualify as a Clever Living builder. All approved builders can provide the customer with a third party, 10-year residential building guarantee.

Each approved builder has been credit checked by Bunnings and will be subject to ongoing credit-monitoring.

Recently approved Clever Living builder Glen Armstrong from Te Aroha said prefab homes were increasingly popular in remote places because they could be built off-site and delivered on location.

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